28 February 2008

Circle of love

In 2 months my baby will be a 2 year old toddler .I wonder if she will read what I write about her when she is older and enjoy it and be able to feel what I am feeling now ,to a degree .

I hugged ,cuddled ,kissed you since u were born
U reflected it back manifold as soon as u could

Earlier u would get hugged and show us that u loved it
Now u hug us trying to encircle us as far as ur arms go
Trying to send your love into us via a skin to skin osmosis

It leaves me speechless and bleary eyed
To feel that tiny amount of pressure
That ur little arms and body apply
In making up our circle of love .

23 February 2008

All in the name of beauty

The world is in the grip of an epidemic of catastrophic proportions .Pursuit of a skeletal thinness is the passion that young and old are in the grip of .
I guess mankind has been smitten by good looks from the times of adam and eve .What has changed over the ages is the measure by which beauty is guaged.I will deal specifically with women.At one time they were meant to be buxom and well curved but had to bear the torture of a tight laced corset .In some countries their feet were bound and mis shapen ,as feet were meant to be small .In others their necks were made giraffe like by hoops worn around the neck .
And now it has come to pass that the plump and the obese are running an unenviable race to "thin heaven" and that is understandable .The thin and the scrawny are also in the race but to the "x-ray heaven" where they will have just a thin layer covering their beauteous bones .One common subject of discussion at work ,at parties - what has one been doing or eating less of to reach one of the above heavens .The magazines are full of the current diets of the hollywood stars -that and their divorces and secret love life and pregnancies being the hot selling points .Each day books are released with new arguments as to why the diet and lifestyle being propounded by that book is the best . Atkins ,champagne ,popcorn only ,raw veggies ,soups ,meal replacement satchets at pharmacies - one has a wide variety to choose from .Thankfully some schools of thought dwell upon the need for balance in all walks of life .
That methinks is common sense but to quote an oft quoted cliche : common sense is a sense which is not common .
And similarly the skin colour craze ,the not so white want to bleach their skin milky white and the white want to tan their skin to a golden hue ,but thats another story .

8 February 2008

wintry summer and what I have been upto.

An Australian summer starts about october and continues upto mid april ,give or take a few days.We returned from our vacation in India in October from a 34-36 degrees Bangalore heat to Adelaide thinking ,here we are ,jumping from the frying pan into the fire.There were a few days in Dec over 40 deg which were very unpleasant esp for little Garima,but thats it.Rest of the time it has stayed around the 32 deg mark.Last week was all within 30 deg and the last 2 days have been totally wintry.Our jackets and blankets are out.Just when i realised that Garima hadnt got a single cold /cough etc etc since october and started to bless the heat ,the temperature decided to drop and give her a leaky nose .Just the way of the world and the weather.
In the meantime I have been reading constantly after putting G to bed at night and during her noontime siesta.Read a book of Preethi nair,Memoirs of a geisha,Thornbirds,Four mothers by Shifra horn of jerusalem and a few others.Memorable food that adorned my table and tickled our palates have been makke ki rotiyaan,diff types of fish curries,bread aaloo pakoras etc etc.
I will part company with u dear blogpage with this thought by Chesterton -Education is the soul that each generation passes on to the next .